Offended? People are free to worship as they please. I don’t really care about these people—I don’t know them. I sorta feel sorry for them. They had diamonds in their pockets and went off searching for rhinestones. My church will be there for me regardless of their actions, since Christ did say he would be with us until the end of the age.
Your new friends are probably naive, too. The Church makes very few changes. If they want female clergy, gay marriage, approval for abortion, etc. they can go to the Episcopal or Universalist whatever-it’s-called Church and find those things.
Our church, like most, has a finance council and a parish council. Members are free to run to serve on these boards. If your new friends had a beef with the church they could have run to serve and make changes, but I guess they chose to pick up their marbles and run home. Our church also keeps track of every dime it receives. We receive a financial report every year with specific details of how the money is spent. I don’t concern myself with the finances—I’m there to receive the sacraments and hear the Word of the Lord. I have attended my current church for 20+ years and have only been asked once to give more—it was during the recession when contributions fell off and bills needed to be paid. I even once had a priest say that we were not obligated to donate to every cause, but to pick and choose the ones that you could support. And if you couldn’t support them, don’t.
Lack of compassion? I’m sure your new friends probably never heard of Catholic Charities. I donate throughout the year when possible and at Christmas to support the House of Charity, a homeless shelter. Many of our churches have St. Vincent de Paul collections for food to feed the needy. We provide Christmas baskets with turkeys to many families. My niece once went to the emergency room at our Catholic hospital. She couldn’t afford to pay and the hospital reduced the bill to next to nothing.
I actually meant lack of compassion toward fellow parishioners.
Your new friends are probably naive, too.
Yep, everybody's naive but Catholics, right?
My church will be there for me regardless of their actions, since Christ did say he would be with us until the end of the age.
Since we also worship Christ and have the same Sacraments as you how does that make us all that different?
. I don’t concern myself with the finances—I’m there to receive the sacraments and hear the Word of the Lord. I have attended my current church for 20+ years and have only been asked once to give more—it was during the recession when contributions fell off and bills needed to be paid.
Lucky you! At the Catholic churches I went to after every sermon there was a plea for money for some such charity and two collections. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure I believe you.
Many of our churches have St. Vincent de Paul collections for food to feed the needy. We provide Christmas baskets with turkeys to many families.
And, guess what? We deliver food regularly to the St. Vincent de Paul church near where we live. We take up collections of food. We also take a dinner, cooked mind you, for 65 people at that church every two months. And, we are a very small congregation.
But, you go on thinking that only Catholic churches reach out to the needy, hear the word of Christ, know anything about the Bible, etc. It must make you feel better about your choice to denigrate others' choices otherwise why would you do it?